Features
PLAYING FOOTBALL WITH OUR CONSTITUTION
by ASOKA SENEVIRATNE
Washington DC.
1978 Constitution: Our constitution is once again set for amendment for the 20th time within 42 short years. The 1978 JRJ constitution moved us away from the Westminster model to a more US-like model with the creation of the so called three co-equal branches; legislative, executive and judicial. The three branches were meant to be independent and watch over each other. The power of the purse was left to the legislature while the power to govern was the job of the executive. The judicial branch was meant to be the custodian of the constitution and the laws to ensure that the Rule of Law was ensured.
The 1978 constitution was full of holes and was self-contradicting. The legislature had the power of the purse while the executive appointed ministers to his leadership team, the cabinet. This simple ill-advised provision high-jacked the independence of the legislature. Compare this to the US constitution, wherein members of the legislature are not allowed to hold office within the executive branch. So we experienced a ton of meaningless ministers appointed by the executive to win them over. A rampant waste of money we don’t have.
Moreover, JRJ created the Provincial Councils, District Development Councils, Governors etc. and all for what? Just to manage a 25,000 sq. mile island? What an administrative mess he created. Nobody knew who did what! The entire administration apparatus was a gigantic wasteful mess with overlapping responsibilities. The public watched while their towns became yet another unplanned bunch of shops with broken sidewalks, open drains potholed roads and a barely functional and lethargic local beaureaucracy who don’t care a darn. The bosses in those local bodies were not in their offices while a frustrated public were left with no answers to their basic problems. Files were gathering dust on the boss’s desk; a simple bribe will locate lost files.
JRJ gave immense power to his office and bragged that the only thing he could not do was to turn a man into a woman. But who had oversight over the executive? The legislature whom he hijacked? Besides if the Executive is the all-powerful party leader, which member of his party would want to deny him money or cross his path? We lost accountability and transparency. This led to unprecedented corruption. There was no mechanism for oversight over the president, his cabinet or his bureaucracy. Rot began to set in to our political culture to the point that after 42 years people are simply fed up of corruption from the top to bottom.
The epitome of this level of corruption was when the central bank was robbed with the last regime just a few months into power. Millions were spent on a presidential investigation but nobody was indicted nor the findings made public. Everybody knows that this was not the only mega robbery. Billions of public money went unaccounted for. JR’s so called independent judiciary was hijacked by the top cop, the Attorney General coming under political pressure. The entire law enforcement apparatus was politicized. Police were not allowed to do the job they swore an oath to do. JR’s independent judiciary was a myth. So the entire JRJ experiment was just hog wash and dragged our government’s apparatus into historical levels of corruption.
National character
Besides being a 2,600 old civilization, can we be proud of our national character? Buddhist monks wearing the much revered saffron robe use thug-like language on national TV and in public with monks kidnapping monks in the fight for a seat in the legislature and monks attacking fellow citizens in broad daylight. This is unprecedented. Isn’t the essence of Buddhism elimination of craving? Huh!
Elected leaders are openly attacking private lives of each other or using abusive language in rallies instead of addressing much needed policy to fix our nation’s problems. They brazenly violate the law on national television. Remember the minister who grabbed the camera of a TV reporter and also tied a public servant to a tree? He was never indicted. Where was the Attorney General? Where was the police? Was this not because of the politicization of out law enforcement apparatus? JRJ constitution was not equipped to deal with this. Was it not a joke?
Worse, remember members of the legislature behaving like a herd of cattle in front of the nations’ eyes just a couple of years ago. They too hurled ugly verbal abuse at each other without debating policy and yelled other like street thugs while the House was in session. What happened to common decency and mutual respect at least while inside the nation’s supreme assembly? Is this the example the leaders set to our youth? Is this how we would like to define our national character? what happened to our nation? What happened to honor and common decency? Who is responsible?
President Rajapaksa
Never has our nation been led by a leader like Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He has the right thinking, approach and policies to rescue our nation from this sad state. He has a full plate. For the brief period he has been in power he has displayed competence and good judgment. He made the massive electoral victory for his party possible. He is confronted with a mammoth task created by mismanagement by all previous leaders. He appears fearless about achieving his goals. However, he is definitely challenged by at least some of the members of the new parliament who see politics as business as usual – gettting a luxury vehicle, getting a luxury bungalow, appointing family and friends to top jobs, wasting precious time at five star receptions, and virtually doing nothing much to help the nation but adding to its massive debt burden. It cannot be business as usual. The nation is in peril in every which way.
20th Amendment
The constitution of a nation is a sacred document . It is the national script. It defines our fundamental rights and obligations. It basically defines who we are as a nation. It is not meant to be amended every five years to suit the party in power. Instead it is meant to protect the nation against tyranny, abuse and excesses by rulers among other things.
For God’s sake let our constitution, including the proposed 20A be in simple and concise language. The US constitution which is the oldest in the world and written over 230 years ago only had 4,543 words and only 27 amendments to date. I quote the US constitution because it stands out as the founding document of the most successful nation the world has ever seen. The document in very simple language makes it possible for almost anybody to read and understand it. The constitution need not be filled with legal jargon and wrap around provisions, edits and exceptions. Just try and read the 19A and see how complicated it is. I am not sure if even some lawyers can comprehend it. Get rid of the office of the prime minister. Why do we need a costly prime minister when the executive power is vested with an elected president? Get rid of provincial councils. Get rid of governors. Get rid of chief ministers. Get rid of the nonsensical PR system. Get rid of state ministers. Get rid of MP’s appointed as ministers. Their job is to legislate and see to the welfare and development of their electorates.
The president’s leadership team or the cabinet should be made up of proven experts in their field from the private sector, military and state sector. The president can run his administration with the GA’s and grama niladharis. Use technology. Streamline processes. Hold ministers accountable with public hearings by committees from the legislature. Makes sure members of these committees know their constitutional responsibilities and not just loyalty to their parties. Sorry, but that is how a good democracy is supposed to work. Create a post of independent Inspector General in each ministry, appointed by the elected president whose job it is to watch over waste, fraud and abuse. He or she will be a watch dog on behalf of the president and the public.
Do not remove the independent commissions created by 19A. That was a great idea and Rail and Sirisena deserves credit for it. Do not change the term limits of the president. Countries have learned bitter lessons from leaders who remain in power for ever and ever. That includes USA too who enacted 22nd Amendment to create term limits after FDR displayed undesirable, high handed attitudes. The proposed 20A should not be a document merely discussed by the cabinet. It is too sacred not to deserve a large public debate. It should be debated over the local media so we can get it right. If not the next government will amend it again to suit itself.
Remember cabinet decisions are mostly the decisions of the leader of the cabinet. Do you think our cabinet members are free to challenge the leaders without losing their jobs or getting kicked out of the party? Thank you JRJ! You were so smart!!! People have respect for President Gotabaya and his ability to make correct decisions. That is also why his party won hugely. He has the noble task of amending the constitution to suit the country, not the party. Done right, he will be in the history books. Done wrong, he will go down in history as just another leader who played party politics just to remain in power!
I personally think Gota is better than that. May he have the wisdom to do right by his troubled nation!
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
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